Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CPF) recently released their Sustainability Report 2017 which addresses their sustainability and welfare targets across their food business chains. Illustrated within the report is a welfare roadmap (page 29) that details key steps for improving welfare for each food animal species – poultry, pigs and fish.

CPF describes the on-farm welfare targets for their pork production lines in over nine countries:

They will ensure that 100% of the pregnant breeding sows are in group gestation pens by 2025 for Thailand operations and by 2028 for international operations (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Russia, Myanmar and The Philippines).

On top of this, 100% of newly established farms for pregnant breeding sows will use the group gestation pen from 2017 for Thailand operations and 2018 for international operations.

In 2017, 24% of pregnant breeding sow farms in Thailand had already switched to the group gestation pen.

This development follows World Animal Protection’s engagement with Thai company, Betagro, who committed last year to get mother pigs out of cages when pregnant, and when giving birth, by 2027.

World Animal Protection also influenced the first Chinese company, Zhejiang Qinglian Foods, to commit to get mother pigs out of cages when pregnant by 2025.

Charoen Pokphand Foods’ commitment to getting mother pigs out of cages when pregnant is a welcome one, say animal welfare NGO, World Animal Protection.

World Animal Protection engaged with CP Foods earlier in 2018.

Jacqueline Mills, Head of campaign – Animals in farming, World Animal Protection says:

“This is a significant step in improving the lives of pigs. CP Foods now need to put the wheels in motion to deliver on this commitment and meet their timeline of 2025 in Thailand and other countries by 2028.

“We must not forget that more needs to be done to improve the lives of pigs in farming: provision of manipulable and rootable materials as enrichment to allow pigs to express their natural behaviour, comfortable flooring, getting mother pigs out of farrowing cages, and ending cruel piglet mutilations, which are often done with no pain relief.

“We want to see the world’s biggest producers commit to end close confinement, barren environments and painful mutilations so that pigs can be pigs and live pain-free, move, play, root, explore, socialise and experience natural behaviour.”

This announcement comes one week ahead of World Animal Protection’s global campaign to improve the lives of pigs in farming #Raisepigsright

Source: World Animal Protection